Method and device for producing and packaging tooth brushes

ABSTRACT

Method for producing and packaging tooth brushes ( 2 ) which at least consists in making several devices available, including at least one device ( 3 ) for supplying brush bodies ( 4 ) or parts thereof, at least one brush manufacturing device ( 5, 5 A,  5 B) and at least one packaging device ( 6 ) for packaging the produced tooth brushes ( 2 ), characterized in that use is made of a closed conveyance circuit ( 7 ) which can co-operate at least with the above-mentioned devices ( 3, 5 - 5 A- 5 B,  6 ) to convey half-finished products, end products respectively, between the above-mentioned devices ( 3, 5 - 5 A- 5 B,  6 ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention concerns a method and a device forproducing and packaging tooth brushes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The invention aims a method and device which make it possible toproduce tooth brushes in a smooth, universal manner.

[0003] To this aim, it concerns in the first place a method forproducing and packaging tooth brushes which at least consists in makingseveral devices available, including at least one device for supplyingbrush bodies or parts thereof, at least one brush manufacturing deviceand at least one packaging device for packaging the produced toothbrushes, characterized in that use is made of a closed conveyancecircuit which can co-operate at least with the above-mentioned devicesto convey half-finished products, by which are meant in the first placebrush bodies, end products respectively, by which are meant the toothbrushes, between the above-mentioned devices.

[0004] As use is made of a closed conveyance circuit which cooperateswith a device for supplying tooth brush bodies or parts thereof, as wellas with a brush manufacturing device and a packaging device, auniversally operating transmission system is obtained, whereby thedisadvantages of individual transmission systems operating between twodevices, such as the fact that these transmission systems are oftendifficult to adjust to one another, are excluded. Also, thanks to theuse of a conveying device co-operating with the three above-mentioneddevices, new possibilities are created to make the production process assmooth as possible under all circumstances, for example by providing fora buffer action in different places as explained hereafter, such thatany short interruptions in one of the devices erected along theconveying device will have little or no influence on the averageproduction speed.

[0005] Although, according to the invention, it is not excluded toproduce the brush bodies, or possibly parts thereof, as separatebeforehand, whereby the device for supplying the brush bodies or partsthereof consists of a supply station erected along the conveyancecircuit where the brush bodies are brought in the conveyance circuit,use will preferably be made of an injection-moulding device for thesupply of the brush bodies, in which the brush bodies or parts thereofare formed. Thus is created a comprehensive production circuit whichoffers the advantage that the half-finished products and the endproducts can be followed systematically from start to finish, whichoffers the advantage that also the orientation of the half-finishedproducts and end products is always under control, such that theproducts are never presented to a device in an unexpected manner.

[0006] It should be noted that, apart from the above-mentioned device,also other devices can be used working in conjunction with theconveyance circuit and carrying out additional operations in between.Thus, for example, it is possible that, in the brush manufacturingdevice, just the brush fibers are inserted in the brush bodies, whereasthe final processing, such as warping and rounding, is carried out in aseparate device which is also erected along the conveyance circuit.

[0007] Further, it should be noted that, according to the invention, bya closed conveyance circuit is understood a circuit in which certaincomponents are carried around according to a closed loop. This does notnecessarily mean that the actual conveyance system should be closed.Thus, for example, as will be further explained in detail, use can bemade of platform-shaped elements for the conveyance of the half-finishedproducts and end products. According to the invention, suchplatform-shaped elements can then be systematically carried around inthe conveyance circuit, whereby they are used to convey the brush bodiesfrom the supply device to the brush manufacturing device and to conveythe brushes from the brush manufacturing device to the packaging device.Although these platform-shaped elements are then carried around in aclosed circuit, the means of transport used thereby does not necessarilyneed to describe a closed loop.

[0008] According to another preferred characteristic, the half-finishedproducts, end products respectively, are moved in the conveyance circuitby means of removable holders. Such removable holders make it possiblefor the half-finished products and/or end products to be easily removedfrom the conveyance circuit at the place of the device where furthertreatment is required, and to be brought in the conveyance circuit againafter said further treatment or processing.

[0009] The above-mentioned holders can be of different nature. Thus, forexample, holders can be used which contain clamping devices to hold oneor several half-finished products, end products respectively, in aclamped manner. These may be clamping devices which are self-gripping,or they may be controllable clamping devices.

[0010] Preferably, however, use is made of holders which mainly consistof platform-shaped elements, in particular what are called trays, uponwhich several half-finished products, end products respectively, can beprovided, for example a series of 32 brush bodies, tooth brushesrespectively. Such platform-shaped elements offer the advantage thatthey have a simple construction and can be universally used for theconveyance of the half-finished products, end products respectively,even when they have a different design, or when there is a productionswitch to tooth brushes having another design.

[0011] Use is preferably made of platform-shaped elements which are eachprovided with several seatings to put in the half-finished products, endproducts respectively. Such seatings make it possible for thehalf-finished products, end products respectively, to be simply laiddown in the seatings. According to a preferred embodiment, the seatingsare made such that the half-products, end products respectively,provided in them remain in said seatings at least partially orientated,and preferably entirely orientated during the conveyance.

[0012] Also, the holders are preferably used universally with each ofthe above-mentioned devices, in other words preferably only one type ofholder will be used for all the devices working in conjunction with theconveyance circuit.

[0013] Further, preferably platform-shaped elements are used which aremade of plastic, for example by means of injection moulding. Suchplatform-shaped elements offer the advantage that they are cheap toproduce, light to convey and easy to handle.

[0014] Further, the holders are preferably stackable, such that they canbe stacked for example in buffers, whereby such buffers occupy littlespace.

[0015] According to a possibility of the invention, the above-mentionedholders are provided with identification means, so that they can beidentified. Thus, it is impossible to mingle several half-finishedproducts and/or end products during the conveyance thanks to thenecessary detections.

[0016] According to a special embodiment, the holders are provided withidentification means which can be adjusted, either or not automatically,as a function of the content which they convey or have to convey. Thus,for example, the above-mentioned platform-shaped elements are providedwith a series of small sealable openings, such that, by sealing one orseveral openings, a code can be formed which can for example be detectedby means of an optical eye. As a function of the formed code, suchplatform-shaped element can then either or not be subjected to atreatment on the device concerned.

[0017] According to the invention, use is preferably made in theconveyance circuit of conveying elements moving independently from oneanother, whereby these conveying elements may either consist of trolleysconveying the above-mentioned holders, or they may be shaped by means ofthe holders themselves. In the latter case, the holders can for examplebe moved over a roller track.

[0018] The use of conveying elements moving independently from oneanother offers the advantage that such conveying elements can beimplemented with an optimal degree of capacity utilization. Indeed,every conveying element can carry along half-finished products or endproducts as of every device placed along the conveyance circuit to afollowing device placed along the conveyance circuit, so that thepresence of empty conveying elements in the conveyance circuit can bereduced to a minimum.

[0019] According to the most preferred embodiment, use is made ofholders for the conveyance in the conveyance circuit, as well as ofbuffers in which several of such holders can be temporarily put in awaiting position. Such buffers offer the advantage that the productioncycles of the respective devices erected along the conveyance circuit donot have to be perfectly adjusted to one another. Any differences canthen be absorbed by the buffers. Another major advantage of such buffersconsists in that possible malfunctions in any of the devices do notnecessarily result in the operation of the other devices beinginterrupted.

[0020] The used buffers can be of different nature, as will be furtherexplained by means of a number of possibilities.

[0021] Thus, for example, use can be made of one or several bufferswhich function as a storage room to temporarily store theabove-mentioned holders, whereby the latter can be empty holders and/orholders filled with half-finished products and/or end products. Such abuffer functioning as a storage room makes sure that there are alwaysenough holders available in the conveyance circuit.

[0022] According to the most preferred embodiment, one or several ofsuch buffers are provided at one or several devices working inconjunction with the conveyance circuit, such that a buffer action iscreated at least on the inlet of said devices. Thus can be guaranteedthat every device is permanently supplied with incoming half-finishedproducts or end products.

[0023] Naturally, it is also possible to erect several buffers at one orseveral devices.

[0024] It is also possible to provide for a buffer action both on theinlet and on the outlet of a device erected along the conveyancecircuit. Thus, for example, it is possible to provide for a bufferaction with half-finished products to be treated on the inlet, whereseveral buffered holders are always present, whereas a buffer with oneor several empty or partially empty holders is provided on the outlet,such that the half-finished products or end products leaving the deviceconcerned can be put back in such a holder, after which this holder canthen be further conveyed by means of the conveyance circuit.

[0025] Each device working in conjunction with the conveyance circuitpreferably has a buffer.

[0026] According to a practical embodiment, use is made of buffers witha stacking system for the holders, such that said buffers occupy littlespace. The stacking method, as well as the stacking systems used therebycan be of various natures, and the practical realization of such asystem lies within reach of any craftsman, and thus will not be furtherdiscussed here.

[0027] According to the invention, use can be made of buffers which areerected next to the conveying circuit, for example between a conveyortrack forming the conveyance circuit and a device erected next to it,for example a brush manufacturing device, as well as of buffers whichare part of the conveyance circuit. In the latter case, the conveyancecircuit is for example designed such that the holders on every deviceconcerned are stopped until the half-finished products and/or endproducts have been removed therefrom, provided therein respectively,whereby the waiting holders remain present one after the other in theactual conveyance circuit. According to yet another possibility, use canbe made of what is called a bypass, such that by sending the holders viathe main circuit or the bypass, they can pass different devices, asdesired, and a buffer action can then be provided for in the partconcerned, either in the main circuit or in a bypass, while the otherholders, which do not necessarily have to take part in the bufferaction, can follow their path unhindered.

[0028] According to a variant, use is made of several devices having thesame function, which are erected along the conveyance circuit, forexample two or more devices for supplying brush bodies and/or two ormore brush manufacturing devices and/or two or more packaging devices.In this way, the most optimal combinations can be realized for producingand packaging tooth brushes at a maximum speed.

[0029] As mentioned above, the half-finished products and/or endproducts are preferably moved by means of holders. Putting thehalf-finished products, end products respectively, in the holders andremoving them takes place fully automatically according to aparticularly practical embodiment, such at one or several and preferablyat all the devices erected along the conveyance circuit.

[0030] As already mentioned, use can also be made of bypasses accordingto the invention which each work in conjunction with different devices,either or not of the same type. The use of such a bypass does notnecessarily need to be combined with the use of buffers.

[0031] It is clear that different sorts of system controls can beapplied. Preferably, however, a system control is provided which appliesone or several of the following possibilities of control:

[0032] a control whereby the half-finished products and/or end productsare conveyed in a fixed order and with a fixed orientation, so that, bythe sequence of the products, it is known what product is situated atwhat particular place in the device and at what time;

[0033] a control whereby the half-finished products and/or end productsare provided at random in the conveyance circuit, whereby the dataconcerned are stored at the time of the input, so that it is known wherea certain half-finished product or end product has been provided in theconveyance circuit and where it is situated afterwards;

[0034] a control whereby the half-finished products and/or end productsare provided at random in the conveyance circuit, whereby use is made ofholders to convey the half-finished products and/or end products whichare provided with an identification mark as a function of the content ofthe holders;

[0035] a control whereby the half-finished products and/or end productsare provided at random in the conveyance circuit, whereby the controltakes place by means of a detection as these half-finished productsand/or end products are further processed, preferably carried out on thehalf-finished products and/or end products themselves;

[0036] a control which is a combination of one or several of theabove-mentioned possibilities.

[0037] In the second instance, the invention also concerns a device forproducing and packaging tooth brushes, comprising at least one devicefor supplying brush bodies or parts thereof, as well as at least onebrush manufacturing device and at least one packaging device forpackaging the produced tooth brushes, characterized in that it alsocomprises a conveyance circuit which can co-operate at least with theabove-mentioned devices, in other words, the device for supplying brushbodies or parts thereof, the brush manufacturing device and thepackaging device, and which thus makes it possible to conveyhalf-finished products, end products respectively, between thesedevices.

[0038] Other characteristics of the invention will become clear from theaccompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] In order to better explain the characteristics of the invention,the following preferred embodiments of the invention are described as anexample only without being limitative in any way, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

[0040]FIG. 1 schematically represents a device according to theinvention;

[0041] FIGS. 2 to 4 schematically represent a number of variants;

[0042]FIG. 5 schematically represents an example of a holder which canbe used in the device according to the invention;

[0043]FIG. 6 schematically represents another example of a deviceaccording to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0044] As is represented in FIG. 1, the invention concerns a device 1for producing and packaging tooth brushes 2. This device 1 contains atleast one device 3 for supplying brush bodies 4 or parts thereof, aswell as at least one brush manufacturing device 5 and at least onepackaging device 6 for packaging the produced tooth brushes 2.

[0045] The invention is special in that the device 1 contains aconveyance circuit 7 which can co-operate at least with theabove-mentioned devices, in other words, the device 3 for supplyingbrush bodies 4 or parts thereof, the brush manufacturing device 5 andthe packaging device 6, and which thus makes it possible to convey thehalf-finished products, in particular the brush bodies 4, the endproducts respectively, in particular the tooth brushes 2, between thesedevices.

[0046] The conveyance circuit 7 as represented preferably consists of aclosed circuit.

[0047] In a practical embodiment, the device 3 for supplying brushbodies 4 consists of an injection moulding device to form such brushbodies 4 or parts thereof.

[0048] The devices 3, 5 and 6 can work in conjunction with theconveyance circuit 7 in any way whatsoever according to the invention.This co-operation can be either or not automatic. In fact, what it comesdown to, is that the half-finished products and/or end products aremoved by means of one single conveyance circuit 7 which either or notcomprises several branches. The conveyance circuit 7 hereby preferablyconsists of one conveyor track, but it is not excluded to apply several,for example parallel conveyor tracks.

[0049] In the case of a fully automatic device 1, robots will forexample be erected at the devices 3, 5 and 6, to convey thehalf-finished products, end products respectively, either or notdirectly between the conveyance circuit 7 and the devices 3, 5 and 6concerned.

[0050] The working of the device from FIG. 1 then consists in that, inthe case where the device 3 is made up of an injection-moulding device,brush bodies 4 are formed in this injection-moulding device, and afterthe injection Mould has been opened, are removed from theinjection-moulding device by means of a robot or such and are providedin the conveyance circuit 7 in an orderly manner.

[0051] On the site of the brush manufacturing device 5, the brush bodies4 are taken out of the conveyance circuit 7 again, and provided withbrush fibers 8 in the known manner, after which the formed tooth brushes2 are put back in the conveyance circuit 7 so as to be supplied to thepackaging device 6.

[0052] In the packaging device 6, the tooth brushes 2 are packed, eitherexclusively individually, for example in a blister pack 9, or in anothermanner, for example first individually and then again in larger packs.

[0053]FIG. 2 represents a variant which shows that also several devicesof the same type can be erected along the conveyance circuit 7, in thiscase two brush manufacturing devices, 5A and 5B respectively. Thisallows for different production possibilities. When, for example, brushbodies 4 are being produced at high speed in the device 3, it may benecessary to use several brush manufacturing devices, in this case 5Aand 5B, to produce tooth brushes 2 at the same speed. It is alsopossible to use two or more brush manufacturing devices to producedifferent tooth brushes on the basis of brush bodies 4 coming from thedevice 3 which are either or not different from one another.

[0054] According to yet another possibility, the brush bodies can besequentially presented to the devices 5A and 5B, whereby every brushmanufacturing device 5A, 5B respectively, carries out an operation onthe brush bodies 4. Thus, for example, by means of the device 5A, aspecific part of the holes of the brush bodies 4 can be filled withbrush fibers 8, whereas the other second part of the holes on the seconddevice 5B can be provided with either or not the same type of brushfibers 8. This may for example be important when tooth brushes 2 areproduced whose brush body 4 has openings with different diameters toinsert brush fibers 8 in, or when there is a varying (sectional) cutwithin the same brush. Also, the conveyance of device 5A to 5Bpreferably takes place by means of the conveyance circuit 7.

[0055] Naturally, it is also possible to carry out more than twooperations on more than two brush manufacturing devices, whereby theoperations and/or the materials used thereby, such as the brush fibers 8and anchor plates, have different characteristics.

[0056]FIG. 3 shows a variant in which is applied what is called a bypass10, which offers the advantage that the tooth brushes 2 which have beenproduced in the brush manufacturing device 5A can be sent directly tothe packaging device 6, without having to pass the brush manufacturingdevice 5B.

[0057] As represented in FIG. 4, such a bypass 10 can also be made suchthat a splitting up 11 of the brush bodies 4 to be treated is alreadycarried out before the brush bodies 4 are carried to the brushmanufacturing devices 5A and 5B. This offers the advantage that, atevery brush manufacturing device 5A and 5B, only those half-finishedproducts pass, in particular brush bodies 4, which have to be treated inthe device 5A concerned, 5B respectively.

[0058] Of course, such bypasses 10 cannot only be applied in combinationwith several brush manufacturing devices 5A-5B, but also in combinationwith for example the use of two or more devices 3 and/or two or morepackaging devices 6.

[0059] As mentioned in the introduction, the actual conveyance of thehalf-finished products and end products is preferably carried out bymeans of holders which can be removed from the actual conveyance circuit7 and which can for example be temporarily stacked at every device 3and/or 5 and/or 6. According to the most preferred embodiment, such aholder consists of a platform-shaped element in which several toothbrush bodies 4 and/or tooth brushes 2 can be provided.

[0060] An example of such a holder 12 is schematically represented inFIG. 5. The holder 12 is hereby carried out as a stackableplatform-shaped element or what is called a tray, whereby this elementis provided with a series of seatings 13 for the products concerned.

[0061] Finally, FIG. 6 represents another example of the device 1, forclarity's sake, which more specifically represents how use can be madeof the above-mentioned holders 12.

[0062] The device 1 in this case contains a single device 3 forsupplying brush bodies 4, consisting of an injection moulding device; asingle brush manufacturing device 5; and a single packaging device 6.Further, between the conveyance circuit 7 and each of the devices 3, 5and 6 are also provided buffers 14-15-16, for example in the shape ofstacking devices.

[0063] The operation is then for example as follows. In the buffer 14, anumber of empty holders 12 are permanently kept ready thanks to theregular supply of empty holders 12, as indicated by arrow 17. Each timea number of brush bodies 4 is formed, they are taken out of the mould ofthe injection moulding device and placed in the seatings 13 of an emptyholder 12. The holder 12 provided with brush bodies 4 is then put backin the conveyance circuit 7, as indicated by the arrow 18.

[0064] Then, said brush bodies 4 are conveyed in the holders 12concerned to the brush manufacturing device 5, where they are placed ina buffer 15 in the holders 12 concerned. The brush bodies 4 are removedfrom there, provided with brush fibers 8 and placed back in a holder 12,either or not the same one as the one from where the brush bodies 4concerned were taken, as a tooth brush 2.

[0065] Next, the same takes place at the packaging device 6, where theformed tooth brushes 2 are provided in a buffer 16 in the holders 12,and where these tooth brushes 2 are subsequently packaged and carriedoff in a suitable manner as indicated by arrow 19. The empty holders 12are brought in the conveyance circuit 7 again, after which they areagain made available to the above-mentioned device 3.

[0066] Naturally, it is also possible to provide buffers which are notspecifically coupled to certain devices, such as for example a buffer 20functioning as a storage room for empty holders 12, and a buffer 21 inthe shape of an intermediate storage room for holders 12 which arefilled with brush bodies 4.

[0067] Naturally, the invention also concerns a conveyance circuit 7itself, which consists of a closed conveyance system and of holders 12co-operating with this conveyance system for conveying theabove-mentioned half-finished products and/or end products along thedevices 3, 5 and 6.

[0068] It is clear that also other devices can be provided in, along theconveyance circuit 7 respectively. If for example the warping androunding of the brush fibers 8 does not take place on the brushmanufacturing device 5 itself, nor in a device directly coupled to it,and thus has to be carried out separately, an additional device for thewarping and/or rounded can then for example be provided along theconveyance circuit 7 which, naturally, can also be equipped with abuffer for holders 12.

[0069] The invention is by no means limited to the above-describedembodiments represented in the accompanying drawings; on the contrary,such a method and device for producing and packaging tooth brushes canbe made in all sorts of variants while still remaining within the scopeof the invention.

1. A method for producing and packaging tooth brushes comprising thestep of making several devices available, including at least one devicefor supplying brush bodies or parts thereof, at least one brushmanufacturing device and at least one packaging device for packaging theproduced tooth brushes; wherein further use is made of a closedconveyance circuit which can co-operate at least with theabove-mentioned devices to convey half-finished products, end productsrespectively, between the above-mentioned devices
 2. The method of claim1, wherein for the device for supplying brush bodies or parts thereof,use is made of an injection moulding device.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein for producing and packaging the tooth brushes, exclusively thedevices placed along the closed conveyance circuit are used, wherebythus brush bodies are formed in the injection moulding device, thesebrush bodies are conveyed to a brush manufacturing device by means ofthe above-mentioned conveyance circuit, the brushes are formed in thebrush manufacturing device by providing the above-mentioned brush bodieswith brush fibers, the formed tooth brushes are conveyed to thepackaging device by means of the above-mentioned conveyance circuit, andthe formed tooth brushes are packed in the packaging device, wherebyadditional operations are either or not carried out in between.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, whereby the half-finished products, end productsrespectively, are moved in the conveyance circuit by means of removableholders.
 5. The method of claim 1, which in order to move thehalf-finished products, end products respectively, use is made ofholders which show one or more features selected from the followingseries: that the holders contain clamping devices to hold one or severalhalf-finished products, end products respectively, in a clamped manner;that the holders mainly consist of platform-shaped elements, inparticular what are called trays; that the holders mainly consist ofplatform-shaped elements which are each provided with several seatingsto put in the half-finished products, end products respectively; thatthe holders mainly consist of platform-shaped elements which are eachprovided with seatings which make sure that the half-finished products,end products respectively provided in them remain in said seatings atleast partially orientated, and preferably entirely orientated duringthe conveyance; that the holders are universal, in other words can beuniversally used with each of the above-mentioned devices; that only onetype of holders is used for all the devices working in conjunction withthe conveyance circuit; that for the holders, use is made ofplatform-shaped elements which are made of plastic; that the holders arestackable, such that they can be stacked for example in buffers; thatthe holders have been or will be provided with identification means, sothat they can be identified; that the holders are provided withidentification means which can be adjusted, either or not automatically,as a function of the content which they convey or have to convey.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the conveyance circuit, use is made ofconveyance elements moving independently from one another.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein for the transport in the conveyance circuit, use ismade of holders as well as of buffers in which several of such holderscan be temporarily placed in a waiting position.
 8. The method of claim7, wherein use is made of one or more buffers, these buffers having oneor more features selected from the following series: that one or severalbuffers are included which function as a storage room to temporarilystore the above-mentioned holders, whereby the latter can be emptyholders and/or holders filled with half-finished products and/or endproducts; that one or several buffers are included which are erected atone or several devices working in conjunction with the conveyancecircuit, such that a buffer action is created at least on the inlet ofsaid devices; that one or several buffers are included which are erectedat one or several devices working in conjunction with the. conveyancecircuit, whereby a buffer action is created on the inlet of saiddevices, whereas empty or partially empty holders are kept available onthe outlet of the devices concerned, such that the half-finishedproducts or end products leaving the devices concerned can be put backin such a holder; that several buffers are included, such that everydevice working in conjunction with the conveyance circuit has a bufferat its disposition; that one or several buffers are included which makeuse of a stacking system to buffer the holders; that one or severalbuffers are included which are erected next to the conveyance circuit;that one or several buffers are included which are part of theconveyance circuit; that one or several buffers are included which arepart of the conveyance circuit and whereby they are designed as orprovided in what is called a bypass.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinuse is made of a plurality of devices having the same function, whichare erected along the conveyance circuit.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein at least a number of the tooth brushes are produced by means ofat least two sub-operations which are each carried out on a separatebrush manufacturing device.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein, on eachof the brush manufacturing devices, a sub-operation having differentfeatures is performed, such as for example the insertion of brush fibersin openings with different diameters, the insertion of brush fibers witha different (sectional) cut, etc.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein thehalf-finished products and/or end products are moved in the conveyancecircuit by means of holders which can be either or not placed in buffersas well, and wherein the half-finished products and/or end products atone or several, and preferably at all devices working in conjunctionwith the conveyance circuit can be automatically taken out of theholders and placed in the devices, and, where necessary, are alsoautomatically removed from the devices and placed back in the holders.13. The method of claim 1, wherein use is made of bypasses which eachwork in conjunction with different devices, either or not of the sametype.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein use is made of at least twobrush manufacturing devices, whereby they are separately provided withhalf-finished products by means of at least one bypass.
 15. The methodof claim 1, whereby a system control is provided for which applies oneor more controls selected from the following series: a control wherebythe half-finished products and/or end products are conveyed in a fixedorder and with a fixed orientation, so that, by the sequence of theproducts, it is known what product is situated at what particular placein the device and at what time; a control whereby the half-finishedproducts and/or end products are provided at random in the conveyancecircuit, whereby the data concerned are stored at the time of the input,so that it is known where a certain half-finished product or end producthas been provided in the conveyance circuit and where it is situatedafterwards; a control whereby the half-finished products and/or endproducts are provided at random in the conveyance circuit, whereby useis made of holders to convey the half-finished products and/or endproducts which are provided with an identification mark as a function ofthe content of the holders; a control whereby the half-finished productsand/or end products are provided at random in the conveyance circuit,whereby the control takes place by means of a detection as thesehalf-finished products and/or end products are further processed,preferably carried out on the half-finished products and/or end productsthemselves; a control which is a combination of one or several of theabove-mentioned possibilities.
 16. A device for producing and packagingtooth brushes, comprising at least one device for supplying brush bodiesor parts thereof, as well as at least one brush manufacturing device andat least one packaging device for packaging the produced tooth brushes,whereby it also comprises a conveyance circuit which can co-operate atleast with the above-mentioned devices, in other words, the device forsupplying brush bodies or parts thereof, the brush manufacturing deviceand the packaging device, and which thus makes it possible to conveyhalf-finished products, end products respectively, between said devices.17. The device of claim 16, whereby the conveyance circuit is a closedcircuit.
 18. The device of claim 16, whereby the device for supplyingbrush bodies consists of an injection moulding device to form brushbodies or parts thereof.
 19. The device of claim 16, further comprisingmeans which make it possible to realize the method according to any ofclaims 5 to 15, whereby these means comprise holders and/or buffersand/or conveyance elements and/or devices erected along the conveyancecircuit and/or bypasses and/or controls as defined in any of thepreceding claims 5 to
 13. 20. A conveyance circuit for realizing themethod of any of claims 1 to 15 or a device of claims 16 to 19, wherebyit consists of a closed conveyance system and of holders working inconjunction with this conveyance system to convey the above-mentionedhalf-finished products and/or end products along the above-mentioneddevices.
 21. The conveyance circuit of claim 20, whereby the holdersconsist of platform-shaped elements in which are formed seatings to takeup several of the above-mentioned half-finished products and/or endproducts, in other words brush bodies of tooth brushes and/or toothbrushes.